Captain of the Dragon Ship

Leif Ericsson’s people the brave and fierce Vikings, loves adventure and danger. They sailed to far off places-lands that none of them had ever seen before. Their ships were called dragon ships. They were long and low with the tall mast and many strong oars for rowing when the wind stopped blowing. Carved at the front of each boat was the head of an ugly dragon or serpent which was supposed to keep evil spirits away.

Leif grew up on the lonely, icy island of Greenland. There his adventurous father, Eric the Red taught him to hunt for white foxes and sleek-skinned seals. Leif learned to fight with a sword and to wrestle. He learned to sail a ship through the roughest waters..and he reached the shores of North America almost 500 years before Columbus!

We don’t know exactly how Leif’s great discovery happened. There are many old stories about him and his crew. One story says that he lost his way in fog while sailing between Iceland and Greenland. Many days later, when the skies had cleared he saw a new, mysterious shoreline. He and his crew anchored their dragon ship and explored this strange and different place. They found tall trees and grassy hills and fresh water. They saw so many tangled grapevines growing that Leif named the place Vinland. The men built huts and stayed through the snowy cold winter.

The Vikings sailed to Vinland many times after that until Eskimos who lived there forced them to leave for good. For hundreds of years no one knew about Leif and his discovery. Scientist and explorers were never sure where he had landed or when.

Then, not many years ago, in a place now called Newfoundland, an explorer found some ruins, with parts of stone house and a fireplace still standing. The house is thought to have been built about 1,000 years ago. Leif’s Ericsson house?We dob’t know for sure. But we do know that he was a brave captain who sailed unknown seas.